LAI #74: Smarter Prompts, Context-Aware Agents, and the Math Behind KANs 0 like May 8, 2025 Share this post Author(s): Towards AI Editorial Team Originally published on Towards AI. Good morning, AI enthusiasts! Want to start this week’s issue with a quick announcement: the enrollment for the next “From Beginner to Advanced LLM Developer” cohort is open right now — and will kick off June 1st with a call with our CEO, Louie Peters! Reserve Your Seat — at a 75% Discount! Now, back to this week’s issue, we start with a breakdown of dynamic and customized prompting techniques, moving beyond static instructions to more adaptive, conversational flows. Then we dive into orthogonal polynomials in Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks — yes, it’s technical, but worth it if you care about what’s under the hood of interpretability and efficiency. There’s more: we cover the Model Context Protocol and CrewAI for scaling enterprise agents, a hybrid attention method for forecasting binary sequences, and the evolution of Bayesian Networks for real-time, probabilistic reasoning. Enjoy the read! — Louis-François Bouchard, Towards AI Co-founder & Head of Community Learn AI Together Community section! AI poll of the week! If most research doesn’t stick, what kind of breakthrough actually changes how you build or think? Every now and then, something shifts our perspective. Was it a technique, a paper, or a tool that rewired your approach to AI? Tell us in the thread! Collaboration Opportunities The Learn AI Together Discord community is flooded with collaboration opportunities. If you are excited to dive into applied AI, want a study partner, or even want to find a partner for your passion project, join the collaboration channel! Keep an eye on this section, too — we share cool opportunities every week! 1. Benjaminlee9472_18198 is looking for a partner to work on AI projects, such as training a model. If this is your focus as well, reach out in the thread! 2. Lokomatic is looking to collaborate with partners focusing on AI literacy/ training, DS literacy, GenAI Upskilling, and other learning areas. If this sounds relevant to you, connect in the thread! Meme of the week! Meme shared by ghost_in_the_machine TAI Curated Section Article of the week Designing Customized and Dynamic Prompts for Large Language Models By Shenggang Li The author reviewed techniques for creating customized and dynamic prompts for Large Language Models. Customized prompts provide fixed, task-specific instructions, whereas dynamic prompts adjust based on conversational context for more adaptive responses. The discussion covered practical implementation through manual construction, DSPy for structured workflows, the dynamic-prompting library for real-time adjustments, Jinja2 for template-based composition, and LangChain for building comprehensive LLM applications. Our must-read articles 1. Orthogonal Polynomials in Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks: Use Case and Scenarios By Fabio Yáñez Romero This blog reviewed Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KANs), noting challenges with B-Spline implementations, particularly regarding parallelization and memory. It then explored Orthogonal Polynomials (OPs) as an alternative, highlighting their advantages in computational efficiency, reduced memory requirements, and effective capture of global patterns due to properties like linear independence and recurrence relations. While OPs offer these benefits, they necessitate input normalization and may be less adept with local variations. It also discussed implementations such as Chebyshev-KAN and Legendre-KAN. 2. Model Context Protocol and CrewAI: Scaling Enterprise AI with Standardized Context By Samvardhan Singh This article explored Model Context Protocol (MCP) and CrewAI, technologies designed to enhance enterprise AI. MCP standardizes secure access to business data for AI agents, acting as a universal translator. CrewAI orchestrates these AI agents into collaborative teams to tackle complex tasks. Together, they enable scalable, context-aware AI systems by providing a structured approach to data access and agent coordination, detailing the technical workflow from query to completion. 3. Hybrid Attention for Binary Sequence Forecasting By Shenggang Li This article introduces a method for binary sequence forecasting, BinaryTrendFormer. It integrates n-gram embeddings, count-aware self-attention, and recency-weighted statistics. This model predicts the next binary outcome and the K-step count distribution by transforming raw data into signals fused via attention. It employs multi-task optimization and time-series cross-validation. A code experiment demonstrates its application and performance, including uncertainty interval comparisons, while noting improvement areas. It also discussed real-world uses in finance, retail, genomics, and industrial IoT. 4. From Static to Dynamic: Evolving Bayesian Network Thinking for Real-World Applications By Shenggang Li This article explored Bayesian Networks, distinguishing between static and dynamic models. Static BNs utilize current data and conditional probabilities for immediate risk assessment, as shown in a medical pneumonia diagnosis. Dynamic BNs extend this by adding a time dimension to forecast evolving trends, demonstrated with stock market predictions. Both approaches leverage historical data and domain knowledge. The provided Python code illustrated a practical implementation for each network type. 5. Understanding LLM Agents: Concepts, Patterns & Frameworks By Allohvk This article explored LLM agents, defining them as entities that use LLMs to solve complex tasks by interacting with environments and tools, distinguishing them from static workflows. It covered their evolution from ReAct (Reason+Act) principles, memory integration, tool use, and agentic RAG. The discussion extended to single versus multi-agent systems, key collaborative patterns, and frameworks like LangGraph. Significant developments like the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for data connectivity and Agent-to-Agent (A2A) protocol for inter-agent communication were highlighted, along with the complexities of agent evaluation. If you are interested in publishing with Towards AI, check our guidelines and sign up. We will publish your work to our network if it meets our editorial policies and standards. Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming a sponsor. Published via Towards AI Towards AI - Medium Share this post

Mother's Day is only days away, but fortunately, there's still time to get a gift for mom and have it delivered by Saturday, May 11. LEGO flowers and bouquets are wonderful alternatives to real flowers; they come in several different floral arrangements, they require no maintenance, and right now they are not any more expensive than buying a bouquet of real flowers. Currently, Amazon and Target are offering up to 55% off select LEGO flowers and 20% off LEGO flower bouquets. Build them yourself and you'll be gifting her a labor of love, literally.Update: With Mother's Day now only a few days away, some of these LEGO sets may not be delivered in time. If the estimate delivey is past Saturday, you might have better luck purchasing from Target for in-store pickup.20% Off LEGO Flower BouquetsLEGO Botanicals Mini Orchid 10343LEGO Botanicals Chrysanthemum 10368LEGO Icons Wildflower Bouquet 10313LEGO Icons Flower Bouquet 10280LEGO Icons Orchid 10311LEGO Icons Succulents 10309LEGO Icons Tiny Plants 10329LEGO Icons Bonsai Tree 10281LEGO Botanicals Lucky Bamboo 10344Most of the LEGO flower bouquets from the Botanicals and Icons series are 20% off. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can still get most of them delivered by Mother's Day with free expedited shipping. If you're not a Prime member and you want them to arrive by Saturday, then I'd suggest ordering from Target instead. These pre-arranged flower bouquets are beautiful, easy to assemble, and still give you some degree of customization. Once you've built the flowers, you can arrange them pretty much any way you want to and place them in a nice vase for that finished look. Best of all, these flowers don't require any water, plant fertilizer, or sunlight to look their very best.LEGO Flower Deals for $10 or LessLEGO Cherry Blossoms 40725LEGO Sunflowers 40524$6.71 at TargetLEGO Lotus Flower 40647LEGO Daffodils 40747LEGO Roses 40460These flower sets are my personal favorite. They're inexpensive, yes, but they also give you the option to customize your bouquet. I purchased several of these sets last Mother's Day and the kids built and arranged them in a mason jar. The kids enjoyed working on the project and their mom loved it.A bouquet made of random LEGO flower setsLooking for more Mother's Day gift ideas?Gifts Under $100Garden HydrangeaGifts Under $100Apple AirPods 4Gifts Under $100Keurig K-Express Single Serve K-Cup Pod Coffee MakerGifts Under $100Under Armour Women's Charged Assert 10Gifts Under $100Mom’s Sweet Retreat$89.99 at Fruit Bouquets by 1800Flowers.comGifts Under $100Beats Solo BudsGifts Under $100Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet$59.99 at LEGO StoreGifts Under $50Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K MaxGifts Under $50Coach New York EDP Spray for Women 1 oz.Gifts Under $50Grenebo Gardening Tools 9-Piece SetGifts Under $50Azul Board GameGifts Under $50Mini Orchid$29.99 at LEGO StoreGifts Under $50Hearth & Harbor Crochet Kit for Beginners AdultsGifts Under $50Pastel Petals Tulip GardenGifts Under $50Stanley Quencher H2.0 Tumbler with Handle and Straw 30 oz$35.00 at AmazonGifts Under $25Soundcore by Anker A20i True Wireless EarbudsGifts Under $25EverFoams Women's Fuzzy Slip-on SlippersGifts Under $25DOVE PROMISES Milk Chocolate CandyGifts Under $25NEWCOSPLAY Super Soft Throw Blanket Light PurpleGifts Under $25Fresh-Cut Lilies Flower Bunch, 3 Stems, Colors Vary$4.97 at WalmartGifts Under $25Gallery of Three MugGifts Under $25Flower StudsGifts Under $25Fitvids Yoga MatGifts Under $25Homesick Mom's Day Off Candle (& More)If LEGOs aren't quite up mom's alley, then check out some of our other Mother's Day gift ideas for inspiration, including real flowers, candy, fuzzy slippers, arts and crafts, and more. If you want to really impress mom, give her a new iPad or a pair of AirPods, both of which are also on sale and should be delivered in time if you order soon.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Jason Mantzoukas enjoys himself way too much in this exclusive Taskmaster season 19 clip. South of Midnight allows you to skip boss fights, and believe it or not, that’s okay. “I recently loaded South of Midnight, interested to check out such a gorgeous-looking game, and was immediately delighted by the art and the extraordinary performances in the cutscenes, but then—as Zack warned us—I was immediately underwhelmed by the repetitive combat. However, while idly fiddling through the game’s settings to see what was what, I saw a toggle I absolutely was not expecting: ‘Boss skip option.’” Read more at Kotaku Following a trend of post-apocalyptic successes on other streamers, Netflix has found an appreciative audience for its genre entry, The Eternaut. “Shows like Silo and Fallout have become international sensations for Apple TV+ and Prime Video in the last few years, and now Netflix has finally responded with a post-apocalyptic series of its own. Netflix’s newest series comes in the form of The Eternaut, which follows a group of survivors as they fend off an alien threat after a horrific snowfall took the lives of millions of people.” Read more at Collider Max is cracking down on password sharing, following Netflix’s example. But the money grab may take some time to implement. “While it’s easy to dunk on Warner Bros. Discovery’s horrifically unpopular decision-making, this is more or less the same timeline Netflix worked out when it launched its own password-sharing crackdown a few years ago. Netflix’s initiative was first tested in Latin American countries like Chile and Peru in 2022 before it came stateside in 2023. Everyone and their literal mother complained about it, but Netflix claimed those complaints did not really deter people from using Netflix.” Read more at The A.V. Club Benedict Wong is on board for Ridley Scott’s next post-apocalypse tale, The Dog Stars. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! “Benedict Wong (Weapons) has joined the cast of The Dog Stars, Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic thriller based on the novel by Peter Heller. Character details are under wraps. Wong joins an ensemble led by Jacob Elordi, which also includes Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, and Guy Pearce. Currently shooting in Italy, the film reunites the actor with Scott following the duo’s work together on Prometheus (2012) and The Martian (2015).” Read more at Deadline

The creamy living room, elegant enough for a fundraiser, also had to be comfortable, says ELLE DECOR A-List designer Josh Greene of the Park Avenue apartment he designed for clients with three young children. “We didn’t want the living room to be this overly formal room,” he says, “but dressy enough to dim the lights and have a beautiful space. I want you to be able to come home, flop your shoes off and plop down on the sofa.” This is how he wants all the spaces he shapes: “Stylish enough to be impressive and impactful, formal when needed,” he says, but also livable, usable, and warm.When the clients brought this four-bedroom apartment to Greene, it hadn’t been touched in quite some time. A previous owner had done a tasteful renovation with designer Scott Snyder, which was subsequently undone by a renovation executed by another owner (the exact date of which was unknown to Greene, though the evidence of it was clear). Greene set about accentuating the apartment’s bones, keeping what could be kept—like the “chunky” crown molding and mahogany doors—and updating the rest. The kitchen, for one, needed a complete overhaul. A wall that couldn’t be removed because of the electrical it housed was brought down to a half and turned into a banquette to serve as an informal dining area. Now, marble counters surround a custom table, and pendants by Urban Electric Co. hang over a floating island.Photography by Tim LenzIn the kitchen, an existing wall was lowered and turned into a banquette that surrounds a table.The primary bathroom was also gutted. A “stripey” slab marble went on the walls and was mirrored in matching tile on the floors. Medicine cabinets designed by Greene. This is something else Greene is known for: furniture, textiles and wallcoverings he creates and uses in clients’ homes. A collaboration with Kufri, called Chromia, launched in April, and another with with Lawson-Fenning launched in early May. Photography by Tim LenzIn the primary bathroom, stripey granite forms a mirrored grid on the floor. The medicine cabinets are by Josh Greene Design, faucets by Waterworks, and lights by Urban Electric Company.In the Park Avenue apartment, Greene’s custom touches are everywhere, from the hanging lanterns in the hallway to the nightstands in the daughter’s room to the rug in the dining room (a collaboration with Marc Philips). Even the sofa is custom. “I love a horizontal stripe,” he says. When he first found the fabric by Rosemary Hallgarten, years prior, Greene thought, “this would make a killer sofa.”In each room, art brought in primarily by advisor Sarah Stein Sapier adds its own commentary, punctuating Greene’s designs. Altogether the vision sprang from Greene’s sensibility paired with his read on the client: “Mellow and beautiful and stylish and effortless,” he says. “She and the husband are so nice and easygoing; I’m drawing inspiration from them and trying to create a unique space for them based on who I feel they are.”After a visit to Fresco Decorative Arts the client fell in love with a blue color. So it went on the dining room walls: a speciality plaster echoed by tones found in a large painting by Dashiell Manley, a vintage vase, and chandelier and sconces by Blue Green Works.See Inside the Park Avenue ApartmentGreene’s point of view is shaped by close to two decades of experience in the business. It’s also a record of his influences and the imprint of an upbringing on the West Coast. “In a sense I’m always pulling things deep out of my design vault,” he says. For example, the stripes on the primary bathroom floor: “This reminded me of the floor in the old Barney’s in Beverly Hills,” he says, which had a similar basket weave. Though it’s not always so specific. Implicit memories of place manifest in Greene’s work through his color palette, an instinct for pairing hard and soft silhouettes, and an eye toward livability.And while the Park Avenue apartment by no means shouts California, look closely and you’ll see that hint of relaxed glamour. As Greene puts it: “There is a comfort that I like to bring to the party.”

This is Rumor Replay, a weekly column at 9to5Mac offering a quick rundown of the most recent Apple product rumors, with analysis and commentary. Today: major leaks for iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 18 Pro, a new Air ‘Max’ size, and more spanning 2026 and beyond. Here are this week’s Apple rumors. iPhone 18 release schedule and Pro design change This was a big week for new iPhone leaks, with details for launches spanning 2026 and 2027. Next year’s iPhone 18 lineup will reportedly have at least two big changes: The base iPhone 18 won’t launch next fall, but instead will be saved for spring 2027 alongside a new iPhone 18e iPhone 18 Pro models will have a small camera hole in the top-left corner and drop the Dynamic Island cutout The new Pro design is reportedly a precursor to a cutout-free design debuting the following year. My takeaways Apple is setting itself up for a very big year ahead of the iPhone’s 20th anniversary. With redesigned Pro models launching next year, alongside the first iPhone Fold, and a new Air, the fall lineup sounds especially strong. But then launching two new iPhones—the 18 and 18e—the following spring is impressive too. This release schedule change is a major shift, but it could be a great one for iPhone sales. iPhone 17 Air battery case coming Apple’s discontinued Smart Battery Case Though prior reporting on iPhone 17 Air indicated battery life wouldn’t suffer too much from the ultra-thin design, The Information this week indicated otherwise. Per their report, internal Apple tests estimate 60-70% of iPhone 17 Air users will be able to go a whole day without charging. This compares to 80-90% for other models. Apple is reportedly, as a result, preparing a new battery case exclusively for the Air model. It will be sold as an optional accessory. My takeaways I’m a little torn on this report, especially regarding the percentage ranges in the battery comparison. If you compare the low end of the Air estimate to the high end for other models, that gap from 60% to 90% is huge. But if a more realistic comparison is 70% to 80%, I could see the Air being perfectly fine for most users. My guess? The Air will have decent battery life, nothing especially poor. But the battery case will be a solid option for users who consistently need more juice. iPhone Air ‘Max’ in the works Source: AppleTrack Per Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is already working on a larger version of its upcoming iPhone Air model. Kuo says this year’s iPhone 17 Air will be followed by an 18 Air next year that’s the same size. But then in 2027, the Air’s 6.6-inch display is expected to increase for the iPhone 19 Air. It’s unknown exactly what size Apple is targeting, but somewhere near the Pro Max’s 6.9-inch screen seems likely. My takeaways We had heard previously that iPhone 17 Air was originally prototyped with a larger display. It seems that larger screen is returning in a couple years. I’m not a fan of huge iPhones personally, since I always prefer having the option of one-handed use. But the market has consistently shown that most people love big phones, so this move is a natural evolution for the Air. WWDC’s three major themes Anticipation is growing for WWDC next month and Apple’s big unveiling of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16, and more. This week, Mark Gurman said the conference would have three major themes: Redesigned and more cohesive operating systems New Apple Intelligence capabilities Major enhancements to the iPad’s OS My takeaways We’ve known for a while that redesigned OS versions would be a huge highlight of WWDC. I’m pleased to hear, though, that Gurman believes AI upgrades and iPadOS productivity features will be major tentpoles too. I’ve always seen last year’s Apple Intelligence rollouts as laying a foundation. They weren’t meant to be Apple’s final say in the area of AI. As a result, I’m hoping for some strong year-over-year improvements as the company seeks to establish its footing in a highly competitive market. What are your takeaways from this week’s Apple rumors? Let us know in the comments. Best iPhone accessories Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

To bypass artificial intelligence writing detection, college students are reportedly adding typos into their chatbot-generated papers.In a wide-ranging exploration into the ways AI has rapidly changed academia, students told New York Magazine that AI cheating has become so normalized, they're figuring out creative ways to get away with it.While it's common for students — and for anyone else who uses ChatGPT and other chatbots — to edit the output of an AI chatbot, some are adding typos manually to make essays sound more human.Some more ingenious users are advising chatbots to essentially dumb down their writing. In a TikTok viewed by NYMag, for instance, a student said she likes to prompt chatbots to "write [an essay] as a college freshman who is a li’l dumb" to bypass AI detection.Stanford sophomore Eric told NYMag that his classmates have gotten "really good at manipulating the systems.""You put a prompt in ChatGPT, then put the output into another AI system, then put it into another AI system," he said. "At that point, if you put it into an AI-detection system, it decreases the percentage of AI used every time."The irony, of course, is that students who go to such lengths to make their AI-generated papers sound human could be using that creativity to actually write the dang things.Still, instructors are concerned by the energy students are expending on cheating with chatbots."They're using AI because it’s a simple solution and it’s an easy way for them not to put in time writing essays," University of Iowa teaching assistant Sam Williams told the magazine. "And I get it, because I hated writing essays when I was in school."When assisting a general education class on music and social change last fall, Williams said he was shocked by the change in tone and quality between students' first assignments — a personal essay about their own tastes — and their second, which dug into the history of New Orleans jazz.Not only did those essays sound different, but many included egregious factual errors like the inclusion of Elvis Presley, who was neither a part of the Nola scene nor a jazz musician."I literally told my class, 'Hey, don’t use AI,'" the teaching assistant recalled. "'But if you’re going to cheat, you have to cheat in a way that’s intelligent. You can’t just copy exactly what it spits out.'"Students have seemingly taken that advice to heart — and Williams, like his colleagues around the country, is concerned about students taking their AI use ever further."Whenever they encounter a little bit of difficulty, instead of fighting their way through that and growing from it, they retreat to something that makes it a lot easier for them," the Iowa instructor said.It's a scary precedent indeed — and one that is, seemingly, continuing unabated.Share This Article

May 08, 2025Ravie LakshmananMalware / Cloud Security Cybersecurity researchers have exposed what they say is an "industrial-scale, global cryptocurrency phishing operation" engineered to steal digital assets from cryptocurrency wallets for several years. The campaign has been codenamed FreeDrain by threat intelligence firms SentinelOne and Validin. "FreeDrain uses SEO manipulation, free-tier web services (like gitbook.io, webflow.io, and github.io), and layered redirection techniques to target cryptocurrency wallets," security researchers Kenneth Kinion, Sreekar Madabushi, and Tom Hegel said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. "Victims search for wallet-related queries, click on high-ranking malicious results, land on lure pages, and are redirected to phishing pages that steal their seed phrases." The scale of the campaign is reflected in the fact that over 38,000 distinct FreeDrain sub-domains hosting lure pages have been identified. These pages are hosted on cloud infrastructure like Amazon S3 and Azure Web Apps, and mimic legitimate cryptocurrency wallet interfaces. The activity has been attributed with high confidence to individuals based in the Indian Standard Time (IST) time zone, working standard weekday hours, citing patterns of GitHub commits associated with the lure pages. The attacks have been found to target users searching for wallet-related queries like "Trezor wallet balance" on search engines like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, redirecting them to bogus landing pages hosted on gitbook.io, webflow.io, and github.io. Unsuspecting users who land on these pages are served a static screenshot of the legitimate wallet interface, clicking which, one of the below three behaviors happen - Redirect the user to legitimate websites Redirect the user to other intermediary sites Direct the user to a lookalike phishing page that prompts them to enter their seed phrase, effectively draining their wallets "The entire flow is frictionless by design, blending SEO manipulation, familiar visual elements, and platform trust to lull victims into a false sense of legitimacy," the researchers said. "And once a seed phrase is submitted, the attacker's automated infrastructure will drain funds within minutes." It is believed that the textual content used in these decoy pages is generated using large language models like OpenAI GPT-4o, indicative of how threat actors are abusing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools to produce content at scale. FreeDrain has also been observed resorting to flooding poorly-maintained websites with thousands of spammy comments to boost the visibility of their lure pages via search engine indexing, a technique called spamdexing that's often used to game SEO. It's worth pointing out that some aspects of the campaign have been documented by Netskope Threat Labs since August 2022 and as recently as October 2024, when the threat actors were found utilizing Webflow to spin up phishing sites masquerading as Coinbase, MetaMask, Phantom, Trezor, and Bitbuy. "FreeDrain's reliance on free-tier platforms is not unique, and without better safeguards, these services will continue to be weaponized at scale," the researchers noted. "The FreeDrain network represents a modern blueprint for scalable phishing operations, one that thrives on free-tier platforms, evades traditional abuse detection methods, and adapts rapidly to infrastructure takedowns. By abusing dozens of legitimate services to host content, distribute lure pages, and route victims, FreeDrain has built a resilient ecosystem that's difficult to disrupt and easy to rebuild." The disclosure comes as Check Point Research said it uncovered a sophisticated phishing campaign that abuses Discord and singles out cryptocurrency users in order to steal their funds using a Drainer-as-a-Service (DaaS) tool called Inferno Drainer. The attacks entice victims into joining a malicious Discord server by hijacking expired vanity invite links, while also taking advantage of Discord OAuth2 authentication flow to evade automated detection of their malicious websites. Breakdown of total domains into suspected and confirmed URLs by quantity. Between September 2024 and March 2025, more than 30,000 unique wallets are estimated to have been victimized by Inferno Drainer, leading to at least $9 million in losses. Inferno Drainer claimed to have shut down its operations in November 2023. But the latest findings reveal that the crypto drainer remains active, employing single-use smart contracts and on-chain encrypted configurations to make detection more challenging. "Attackers redirect users from a legitimate Web3 website to a fake Collab.Land bot and then to a phishing site, tricking them into signing malicious transactions," the company said. "The drainer script deployed on that site was directly linked to Inferno Drainer." "Inferno Drainer employs advanced anti-detection tactics — including single-use and short-lived smart contracts, on-chain encrypted configurations, and proxy-based communication — successfully bypassing wallet security mechanisms and anti-phishing blacklists." The findings also follow the discovery of a malvertising campaign that leverages Facebook ads that impersonate trusted cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms like Binance, Bybit, and TradingView to lead users to sketchy websites instructing them to download a desktop client. "Query parameters related to Facebook Ads are used to detect legitimate victims, while suspicious or automated analysis environments receive benign content," Bitdefender said in a report shared with the publication. "If the site detects suspicious conditions (e.g., missing ad-tracking parameters or an environment typical of automated security analysis), it displays harmless, unrelated content instead." The installer, once launched, displays the login page of the impersonated entity through msedge_proxy.exe to keep up the ruse, while additional payloads are silently executed in the background to harvest system information, or execute a sleep command for "hundreds of hours on end" if the exfiltrated data indicates a sandboxing environment. The Romanian cybersecurity company said hundreds of Facebook accounts have advertised these malware-delivering pages mainly targeting men over 18 years in Bulgaria and Slovakia. "This campaign showcases a hybrid approach, merging front-end deception and a localhost-based malware service," it added. "By dynamically adjusting to the victim's environment and continuously updating payloads, the threat actors maintain a resilient, highly evasive operation." Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE    

The first live-action Lord of the Rings movie in over a decade has an official release date.The movie is titled The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy, is directing and starring in the film. Jackson is involved as a producer.Warner Bros. has set a release date for the new film in the holiday season of 2027. When it was first announced in the spring of 2024, it came with a projected release date of 2026. All of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies were Christmas tentpoles as well.The Hunt for Gollum will purportedly “explore storylines yet to be told” within the Lord of the Rings universe. In an interview with Empire, writer/producer Philippa Boyens called it “quite an intense story, which falls after the birthday party of Bilbo and before the Mines of Moria ... “It’s a specific chunk of incredible untold story, told through the perspective of this incredible creature.”1. Gollum, The Lord of the Rings TrilogyNew Lineloading...READ MORE: Movie Sequels You Forgot ExistedDespite the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien passed away more than 50 years ago, his works continue to be adapted or sequelized at a rare pace. Amazon is currently in the midst of producing a massive Lord of the Rings television series, The Rings of Power, while just last year, Warner Bros. released an animated Lord of the Rings prequel film called The War of the Rohirrim. (Unlike all of the live-action Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films released throughout the 21st century, that one was not a hit.)The last live-action LOTR films were Jackson’s trilogy of The Hobbit movies, which opened in theaters in in December 2012, 2013, and 2014, and grossed $2.91 billion worldwide.The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is now scheduled to open in theaters on December 17, 2027.Get our free mobile app25 Actors Who Turned Down Huge Movie RolesSome of the most famous actors in history turned down the chance to play cinema’s most iconic roles.

Sales & Partnership Director - Conference BadgePosition OverviewThe Sales & Partnership Director will drive our company's growth strategy by developing key account relationships within the conference and event planning industry. This role will focus on establishing partnerships with meeting procurement companies, association management organizations, and direct relationships with high-volume event producers. The ideal candidate will combine strategic thinking with relationship-building skills to achieve significant revenue growth.Key ResponsibilitiesStrategic Sales LeadershipDevelop and execute a comprehensive outbound sales strategy to grow revenueBuild and manage a high-performing sales team, providing coaching, mentoring, and performance managementEstablish sales targets, KPIs, and reporting frameworks that align with company growth objectivesCreate forecasting models and provide regular analysis of sales performance against targetsKey Account ManagementPersonally manage relationships with our highest-value accounts and strategic partnersDevelop and implement account growth strategies for top 20 highest-potential clientsCreate customized proposals and presentations for enterprise-level clientsNegotiate complex multi-event contracts and strategic partnershipsPartnership DevelopmentIdentify and secure strategic partnerships with meeting procurement companies Develop channel relationships with association management companies Create partner programs that incentivize repeat business and referralsEstablish preferred vendor status with key convention centers and event venuesIndustry LeadershipRepresent the company at industry events, trade shows, and conferencesDevelop thought leadership content to position our company as an industry expertBuild relationships with industry associations to enhance company visibilityStay current on industry trends and competitive landscapeProduct & Service InnovationCollaborate with operations and product teams to develop innovative badge solutionsIdentify opportunities for value-added services and product line extensionsProvide market intelligence to guide product development prioritiesTest and validate new offerings with key clients and partnersQualificationsRequired Experience5+ years of sales leadership experience in the events industry, conference services, or related fieldProven track record of exceeding revenue targets and driving significant business growthExperience building and managing high-performing sales teamsDemonstrated success in securing enterprise-level partnerships and contractsStrong understanding of the conference and events industry landscapeSkills & AttributesExceptional relationship-building and networking capabilitiesStrategic thinking and business acumenStrong negotiation and closing skillsExcellent communication and presentation abilitiesAnalytical thinking with data-driven decision-making approachCRM expertise and sales process optimizationCollaborative approach to working across departmentsCompensation & BenefitsCompetitive base salary plus performance-based commission structurePerformance-based bonuses tied to company growth milestonesFlexible working structureLocation & TravelRemote positionOccasional travel requiredHow to ApplyQualified candidates should submit a resume and cover letter detailing relevant experience and proven sales achievements. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace.Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Meet JobCopilot: Your Personal AI Job HunterAutomatically Apply to Remote Sales and Marketing JobsJust set your preferences and Job Copilot will do the rest-finding, filtering, and applying while you focus on what matters. Activate JobCopilot

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